Does anyone have paper thin skin on your arms? Mine is NOT due to meds, but baking in the sun when I was younger. Is there anything you've tried to make the skin thicker? My skin is so thin, it tears when I bump into something. The doctors say nothing can be done. Anyone have any suggestions?

As we age, the thick collagen layer of the skin (the layer that leather is made from) atrophies or thins out. Wearing long sleeves is helpful because the clothing protects the skin from tears from minor bumps or scrapes.

Chronic stress and too-high cortisol levels could also be a contributing factor to papery, thin skin. If you also have any of the following symptoms--midsection weight gain, blood sugar imbalances, muscle atrophy, memory loss--then you might want to look into stress management, dietary and vitamin/mineral support, and natural hormone balancing. (Source: What your doctor may not tell you about premenopause, by John R. Lee, Jesse Hanley and Virginia Hopkins)

Besides that, of course there's always Vit A, C, and AHA topicals, which if used carefully, can thicken the dermis. An economical possibility for the body is rosehip seed oil (has Vit A and C), besides things meant for the face, like Retin A, C serums, Neostrata, etc.

Does anyone have paper thin skin on your arms? Mine is NOT due to meds, but baking in the sun when I was younger. Is there anything you've tried to make the skin thicker? My skin is so thin, it tears when I bump into something. The doctors say nothing can be done. Anyone have any suggestions?

OK... BEFORE I would go out and buy it, I'd talk with a DERM First.... DON'T GO SELF MEDICATING BASED ON THIS...

Things I would consider. If your skin is so thin it literally tears by bumping it... I would ask your dr. or derm for a very solid exam. Make sure there's no cancer present. Make sure that your blood work is all in order. That you're not missing anything that would deal with natural skin repair.

Is summer approaching on your side of the world? If so, you need to be careful with retin-a and exposure. That's always a bad mix.

With dr. approval, if you can do so with out tearing the skin... I'd look into skin brushing. Starting with a soft brush... the agitation SHOULD (again unless med issue you'r not sure about) stimulate and toughen skin.

I'm reminded of playing volleyball as a kid. At first, when you'd hit that ball, the sting and little hicky like bruising that would take place was bad... but within a few weeks everything toughened up...

Seems like you could do some none invasive stuff to strengthen... But do to how extreme this sounds to me, I'd want to do so with a Dr. assist...

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